Fear and Loathing
by The McQuaid Brothers
Summary: What do I need Dimitri for? Or Lissa? They hate me anyway. So where is the place that people go to get away from their problems? Las Vegas, and that's where I planned to go. I didn't know what I would do or who I would meet, I guess I'll just have to find out. Rose leaves after "Love fades mine has", it seems nobody wants her around. What happens when Dimitri comes crawling back?
1. Chapter 1

ROSE POV

I didn't need him, I didn't need anyone. So what if he hated me, I didn't care. Lissa doesn't want me around, why should I be around? Why couldn't I see that? Why couldn't I see that Lissa and Dimitri hated me? I felt embarrassed now realizing how I acted earlier when Dimitri was being interviewed.

I sighed as I laid back down on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling. What was I going to do now? The whole reason I wanted to become a guardian was so I could protect Lissa, and now she doesn't want me around. All her attention has been going to Dimitri, Dimitri idolizes her, and she babies him.

I have to get out of here. I wasn't going to throw away my future and become a stripper or anything, but I wasn't going to stay here and live with this crap. I just need to think of some place I could go where I forget all this.

Frezno, California.

Wait...

Vegas. Vegas is where I would go. Vegas is where I could go to forget all my worries, where I didn't have to deal with Hans, or Tatiana, or Lissa and Dimitri. How would I get there though? The only money I had was twenty bucks. I thought about it for a moment. Abe. All would have to do is ask.

Asking would probably be much easier if I had his number. I would have to catch his attention, now that I had become more acquainted with I knew he would keep tabs on me, make sure I wasn't in any trouble.

So, I had to do what did best, cause trouble. Considering I wanted to leave, preferably without notice. I didn't really want to go all out. I just needed something to grab his attention.

I rolled over onto my side and start to play with my hair as I stared at the wall. How would I get his attention and not the attention of Court? Or Lissa or Dimitri for that matter. No, I scratched that thought, they wouldn't care. They wouldn't even notice.

Only few people in Court knew I existed, and even then I hardly interacted with them. Except for Adrian...

How could I disappear without his notice? Without him attracting attention to me? I sighed and got up from the bed, I picked my phone up from my nightstand. I had been sitting and moping about what Dimitri had said earlier in the church. My eyes were still red rimmed.

I selected the contacts and my thumb hovered over Adrian's name. I'll just text him...then throw my phone in a river. Hm, not really any rivers around here. I'll just chuck it at a wall.

I decided to go incognito, or rather, drop off the face of the Earth. How could I escape Court with anyone's notice though?

Well, for one thing it was about 4 p.m and everyone was asleep. Maybe I should just go for broke and make a run for it. Not through the front gate of course, but at the back of Court. Only a few guardians patrolled the area because of the limited amount of strigoi there.

Where the wards ended at the back end of court was there was a dense forest. Which was the main reason why hardly and strigoi found their way to the wards.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea that I go wandering out in the middle of the woods when strigoi could hardly find their way. But I was the type of the person to do drastic things, so, what the hell.

I searched my closet for the black backpack I had used in my early days at the academy. I had kept it to carry my feeble belongings from Portland. I went to my fridge and packed three orange sodas and two water bottles. Which was pretty much all I had in there.

I then looked through my cupboards for any food I had. I found a bag of Doritos, 5 pieces of white bread, and a half eaten box of cereal. Yep, the pantry and fridge of an adult.

I shoved it all in the backpack, I put my stake in there too. I stayed at the pack of supplies thinking of what I might add, oh yeah. Clothes might be nice. I added a two pairs of jeans and a couple of shirts.

I shoved a black sweatshirt in the bag before closing it up then slipped on my black knee-high boots. I chose them because they were the sturdiest I had out of all my shoes. All my shoes consisted of a pair of flip-flops, sneakers, the shoes I wore as a guardian, and the ones I was wearing now.

Besides, I would get money from Abe to buy my stuff back. Before I left out the door I looked in the drawer of my nightstand. I pulled out the picture of Lissa and I dressed up as fairies for Halloween.

I folded it in half then shoved it in my pocket.

I slung the backpack over my shoulder, before I left I sent a text to Adrian.

_I'm leaving, don't say anything. Don't tell anyone, just trust me._

I picked up my phone and stared at it. It was a crappy phone anyway, I threw it as hard as I could at the wall, it shattered. I stomped on the remains. It was too bad I didn't plan on seeing him again.

Maybe I would miss him, I would miss him. I would miss him and Christian, and to some extent, Dimitri and Lissa. But it wouldn't be the last time I would see them, maybe later, I didn't know when. But I couldn't go on with life without annoying Christian again, and Adrian...Well, I would always love Adrian, I knew I wouldn't love him like Dimitri, I loved him in a different way.

I locked my door before I left. As I made my way out of the building I wondered would Adrian would think when he found out I was gone. I only hoped that he would keep his mouth shut about it.

I looked to see if any guardians were around before I made my way to the back of Court, I jogged till I reached the outline of the forest. I paused and turned around taking one last look.

Then I left.

**HM, ROSE AND VEGAS...NOT SURE THAT'S A GOOD COMBINATION. WONDER WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN ROSE TRIES TO HITCH HIKE...IF, I GUESS. SHOULD I CONTINUE?**


	2. Hitch Hike

ROSE POV

I changed my mind at the last minute, don't get me wrong, I was going to leave. I just had to do something first. I looked around me and picked up the nearest rock I could find. It was about the size of my palm.

I got close enough to my building that I could see my window, I set my backpack down and aimed. I through the rock. I shattered the window. I then ran and nicked my arm on the glass remains, blood dripped down the sharp tips of the glass.

There, now it looked like I was kidnapped or something. Abe would find out, and he would be looking for me. He would especially find me if I were around any cameras, and considering they had footage of us in Vegas, I felt pretty good he would seek me out.

The Moroi wouldn't care, and if they gossiped about it it would only be to talk about how glad they were that I was gone and how it was good for Lissa. And Hans or any other guardians wouldn't care to look for me. Hans just had me doing paperwork, he didn't need my around. I wasn't an asset.

I grabbed my backpack as I ran back towards the woods. I raced through the trees knowing that if I stopped I wouldn't ever leave, I would chicken out and stay. I pushed the thought out of my mind and continued to run, I approached the wards.

I felt a force hit me as I crossed the wards. Turning around again as I ran I saw glimpses of Court through the trees, I was about to turn back. Well, before I ran into a tree. The last things I saw was the sun shining in my eyes.

It was dark out when I woke up, I had fallen on a tree root and my back hurt like hell. I rolled over on my side, not wanting to get up. I reached my hand into my backpack and pulled out one of my water bottles. I drank half of it.

After accidentally spilling have of it on my shirt I put it back in my backpack and got up. I put my hands in the air and stretched, leaning backwards I heard my back crack. That was probably the most uncomfortable knock out I ever had.

I began to regret killing my phone, I wondered what Adrian would have said. If he replied, we weren't exactly on the best of terms when I left. I wondered what was going on back at Court, they probably didn't even notice I was gone. Eh, I didn't care. Or maybe I did.

Then I remembered what Lissa had said to me earlier at the interview, how I made everything worse. I remembered what Dimitri had said in the church. But I also remembered telling Lissa that if I ever left again, she would go with me.

But she didn't want me, she didn't want anything to do with me. She didn't give a damn. That thought fueled me to continue to travel in the opposite direction of Court. She treated me like crap, and so did Dimitri, so why did I stick around?

After searching around for a few minutes I found the tallest tree I could find, I scaled it to the top. It was dark, I almost missed a branch and fell down but I quickly caught myself before I did.

Once at the top, I looked around. I couldn't see very well but I did the lights of Court, and tiny people milling about. Then I looked the opposite direction, just barely, I saw the faint lights of a city.

From Pennsylvania to Nevada, that might be a long ride. Maybe I could sneak on a plane from Court to the academy. I knew it was a long shot though, and there was a large chance of getting caught. I decided to head towards the nearest city and hoped that Abe would somehow find me, or discover where I was. It was a long shot though, considering he was probably in Russia or some other country.

I sighed and climbed back down, I'll just wing it. That's normally what I do anyway. It probably wouldn't be that hard to hitch hike, especially with men. But I would have to wait to make sure I didn't accidentally get someone from Court.

I slung my backpack over one shoulder and started on my trek towards the faint lights I saw.

I didn't think that it would take that long. After an hour had passed I was already tired of walking aimlessly through trees. I took the bag of Doritos out of my backpack and began to chomp on them as I walked.

It was getting lighter out now and I could make out the shapes of trees and bushes and such.

After about another hour, I reached the outskirts of a fairly large city. Just walking through the woods in silence in the morning was actually kind of calming. I didn't have to worry about whether or not I had a shift, paperwork, or the age law.

It was like I escaped this whole thing of dram, I hadn't realized how much life at Court had stressed me out. But now I could just stop interfering and let them do what they want. I didn't have to worry about magic, laws, or Dimitri. And you know what, it was really nice.

Why didn't I think of this earlier? To just get away from it all.

I came to a road, cars were passing by. Maybe here was as good a place as any to just hitch hike. I sat down on the grass, and stuck my thumb out.

After ten minutes my arm got pretty tired, I switched arms and let the other one rest. A blue Honda accord pulled over beside the road a little ways ahead of me. The passenger door opened. I got up and walked towards the car. Weird, I expected a white van.

I sat down in the seat and closed the door, I turned to the driver.

It was a man, he looked about my age. His hair was a dark brown and it was kind of shaggy, he looked like a much younger Johnny Depp. And honestly, he was hot.

"Where to?"He asked. I stared at him, still drinking him in.

"Oh yeah,"I said, blnking."Um, where are you going? I'm just hitch hiking my way to Vegas."I said. I chuckled, how crazy I must have sounded. He must have thought I was delusional.

"Life getting in the way?"He asked. I nodded, still smiling, as he pulled back into the lane.

"What's your name?"He asked.

"Rose,"I answered, I don't know why I gave him my real name."Rose Hathaway."

"Gilbert."He said. My hopes faltered, the perfect guy, the worst name. I tried to stop myself from laughing, I failed.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"He laughed,"If that was my name I'd kill myself."I smiled.

"Johnny Kincaid,"He said. Looks like my favorite actor, has the same name. I was really starting to like life away from Court. I was also beginning to forget Dimitri. Dimitri. My happy expression faltered.

"What's wrong?"He asked. I forced a smile, but I think he noticed it was fake.

"Nothing."

**SO IF YOU'VE READ ANY OF MY OTHER STORIES YOU PROBABLY KNOW THAT I USE THE NAME _JOHNNY KINCAID _FOR ANY OTHER GUY THAT ROSE MEETS...AND EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T READ ANY OTHERS. YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL THAT I LIKE JOHNNY DEPP :p**

**AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER FOR MY STORIES I USUALLY PUT A QUOTE THAT I LIKE, SO HERE-**

**"I don't drink these days. I am allergic to alcohol and narcotics. I break out in handcuffs."**

**- Robert Downey Jr.**

**OH, BEFORE I FORGET. LATER ON DIMITRI WILL MAKE AN APPEARANCE, INCLUDING THE REST OF THE GANG. ABE WILL PROBABLY POP UP TOO. SO DON'T GET YOUR HOPES DOWN JUST BECAUSE ANOTHER GUY IS IN THE PICTURE :)**


	3. Maybe

_**MsRoseBelikov1 **_**I WAS WATCHING THAT MOVIE WHILE WRITING THIS :)**

LISSA POV

Why is Rose acting this way? She knew that Dimitri didn't want to talk to her yet she went ahead pushed his buttons. Can't she just listen to me? Just once? All I ask is that she stops being so conceited. Can't she see other people have feelings and opinions too.

I immediately dismissed the though, it was the darkness, the darkness was making me angry at her. I hoped she hadn't heard me, it was that just sometimes she pissed me off. I don't know, maybe I was just on edge because of wanting people to believe Dimitri was a dhampir again.

She has saved my life countless times, what was I talking about? She saved other people's lives also when she fought in the attack at the academy, she is the most selfless person I know.

I decided to go and apologize to her for being rude at Dimitri's interview, I usually rarely blow up on people like that. Especially Rose. I got up from the couch in the room I was staying in and headed towards the door.

Maybe afterwards I would go and see Dimitri again, but Rose and I hadn't hung out in such a long time. I decided I would just hang out with Rose for a while, maybe we could just talk, like we did when she came back from Russia.

I was almost to Rose's building when I saw a crowd of people standing outside the door, the people saw me and made way so that I could get through.

"What's going on?"I asked the nearest guardian.

"Your friend's been kidnapped, or taken."He said. I peered in the doorway to her room. The glass was shattered, dried blood stained on some of it. I stopped myself from gasping. My eyes ran over the room, drawers were open, some clothing was still in them but most of them were gone. Odd. How could she have gotten most of her clothes when she was being kidnapped. Maybe they were at the laundromat? No, Rose isn't responsible enough for that.

As surprised and shocked as I was, I was very aware. I heard the sound of someone talking down the hall, I crept down the hall attempting to listen in on the conversation in case it had to do with Rose. I rounded the corner.

Before I could fully comprehend whatever they were saying, who ever it was came walking back down the hall, I quickly went back to the crowd.

It was someone I had seen before, well, kinda. I had seen them talk to Rose just after the interview. They had been holding a bag and Rose had been wearing her sarcastic face. Or, that's what I called it, it was the face she wore when she got really snarky.

Maybe he had something to do with her...I decided to follow him.

ROSE POV

I woke from napping in the car, it was bright out. I rubbed my neck.

"Mother of hell what did I sleep on?"I asked. Johnny glanced at me.

" Number one, we're in car, cars are uncomfortable to sleep in. That's just a fact of life. Number two, don't you mean holy hell?"He asked. I continued to rub my stiff neck.

"No, I meant mother of hell. I like to go out of my way and make up inappropriate expressions. Holy hell just seems kind of worn out to me."I answered. He laughed.

"You're a piece of work you know that?"He said. I smiled and nodded. I looked out the window and saw a sign.

"We're in Kentucky!"I exclaimed,"Holy freakin' hell!"

"Hey, I thought you said that was worn out."He said. I continued to look out the window.

"I added freakin' so it's okay."I responded.

"Wait,"I said, taking my eyes away from the window and focusing on him."Where are we going?"

"Vegas."He responded.

"You're taking me, all the way to Vegas?"I questioned. He nodded.

"Well, unless you want to stay in this dump."He said.

"Hey, Kentucky is cool, don't make fun of it."I said. He rolled down his window and stuck his head out.

"I'm sorry Kentucky!"He yelled out of the car. I laughed as other drivers gave him questioning looks.

"I can't believe you just did that."I said in between giggles. He shrugged.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure I didn't offend Kentucky."He said.

"How long have I been out? It must have been a while if we just drove from Pennsylvania to Kentucky."I said.

"About 9 hours I think."He answered. There was a pause for a moment.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"He asked. I was unsure for a minute but I decided to let him.

"Fire away."I said.

"What are those marks on your arm?"He asked. I looked down, shit.

"Well I'm not emo, if that's what you were saying..."I trailed off, trying to think of an explanation that he could buy.

"My last boyfriend...wasn't very nice."I said. He didn't respond right away.

"Why did you stay with him?"He asked. Boy, you're just full of questions aren't you?

"I coudn't find a way to leave. Until you picked me up off the side of the road."I said. Yes, perfect. The perfect back story, I'm good, I am good.

"Well you're safe now,"He finally said. I smiled. I really liked Johnny, I didn't know if I wanted to leave him, but I had already set something up. I had a plan, Abe was supposed to find me and then-

And then what? I didn't have any plans after that, maybe I could be with Johnny. Maybe I could, maybe I couldn't. I still constantly thought of Dimitri, maybe I had to wait. I hoped I wouldn't start thinking about him, then we would have to turn around.

**"Hallucinations are bad enough. But after a while you learn to cope with things like seeing your dead grandmother crawling up your leg with a knife in her teeth. Most acid fanciers can handle this sort of thing. But nobody can handle that other trip—the possibility that any freak with $1.98 can walk into Circus-Circus and suddenly appear in the sky over downtown Las Vegas twelve times the size of God, howling anything that comes into his head. No, this is not a good town for psychedelic drugs. Reality itself is too twisted."  
**

**Raoul Duke, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas**


	4. Car chase

ROSE POV

This was a bad idea. I didn't even know the guy, what the hell was I doing out here in the middle of the desert driving to Vegas? We weren't very far away, just thirty more minutes.

I drummed my fingers on the dashboard to the beat of the music.

"What are you going to do when we get there?"Johnny asked. I drummed my fingers more, thinking.

"Honestly, I don't know. I bet it would be pretty hard to find an alchemist in Vegas with their religious beliefs, because I was thinking about finding some strigoi, you know, clearing the area a bit. There have got to tons of them with all the drunks in Vegas."I said. Immediately after I said it I clamped my hand over my mouth.

Johnny stared at me. I sat there in shock, not moving, as I waited to see how he would react. It was night, and there was a lot of cars on the I-15. My attention turned to the road in front of us. I snapped out of my trance when I realized we were drifting into the other lane.

I leaned over and turned the wheel, he came back too, place both hands on the wheel and steering as many cars honked at us.

"Do you want to get pulled over for drunk driving?"I exclaimed, forgetting about what I just said.

"You're a dhampir."He said. I sat back in my seat.

"Oh good, you know."I said, he chuckled.

"Oh yeah, it's strange how I know I'm half vampire after training to protect Moroi."He said. Now it was my turn to stare at him.

"How the hell-"I began.

"I'm a drop out, that life...just wasn't for me you know? I wanted to go places, do something with my life, being a slave to the Moroi just didn't cut it."He said. He sighed.

"What about you? Was that true what you told me about your boyfriend?"He asked. I put my seat belt, which I realized I wasn't wearing, and haven't been wearing for the last two hours.

"The truth?"I asked. He nodded.

"I don't have a boyfriend, did, haven't, I'm not exactly sure. He's a complicated man. When you picked me up I had just left Court, my best friend of 15 years wasn't treating me all too well. She was siding with my kinda, not sure, ever was boyfriend who claimed he didn't love me. That his love had faded. So, I left. There was nothing for me there."I said. There was silence for a minute.

"Wasn't there anyone else there who could have made you stay? Friends?"He asked. I looked down at my feet.

"I did have a boyfriend, not the same guy as before, and I never really broke up with him. I texted him I was leaving...then chucked my phone at a wall."I said. He laughed at loud once I said the last part.

"Anything else?"He questioned.

"I faked being kidnapped and my Russian mafia mob boss of a father is looking for me."I mumbled.

"What?"He said. My repeated again slightly louder.

"Come on, it can't be that bad."He said. I said it again, at normal volume. He faced the road, clutching the steering wheel. He didn't say anything.

I went back to drumming my fingers on the dashboard waiting for him to speak.

"Well?"I asked after a full song had passed.

"Wow."Was his response.

"Yup."I said.

"That's...unusual."He said. We were about to drive by a gas station when I told him to pull in. He did as I asked.

"Can I borrow a few quarters?"I asked. He didn't even try to act weirded out by me anymore.

"Take as many as you like."He said. I grabbed 3 from the cup holder and went to the pay phone. Strangely, it rang before I even put the quarters in. I slowly picked up the phone and held it up to my ear.

"Do you know how worried I was?"Came a voice from the other line. I looked around me as if I would see whoever it was talking to me standing around on a cellphone.

"Um..."I trailed off.

"Um is right! You could have at least warned me before you went off and did something reckless like this! I've been trailing you for the last 7 hours, what do you think you going to do in Vegas?"I recognized the voice. Abe. Now that I knew who I was dealing with, I started to get sassy.

"How the hell did you even know I was at this gas station?"I exclaimed.

"...I have my sources."He responded.

"Well I know where that came from."I mumbled. Then I realized what he was referring to.

"What the hell is the matter with you!"I screamed into the phone. Johnny was hired by Abe, that lying son of a bitch. Well was he in for a surprise. I slammed the pay phone back into the holder, making it fall right off and dangle below. I didn't care though.

I turned to the car Johnny was in, I smiled and held up a finger before going into the gas station signaling that I would be back in a minute. I went in immediately went for the other door that was on the other side.

I made sure Johnny wasn't looking as I ran further down the road. I stuck my thumb out.

A red Convertible pulled to the side of the road. The passenger was sporting large orange sunglasses, a tan hat, and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Someone else who appeared to be high as hell was driving the car.

The passenger leaned over.

"Get in, it's bat country!"He exclaimed. **(It's funny because none of you get the movie reference)** He then swatted at something that wasn't there with a fly swatter. I hopped in the back seat, Vegas wasn't that far away right?

They got in and started driving again. Not even bothering to ask where I was going. I saw a salt shaker in the cup holder up front with a 20 dollar bill as a cap. I was pretty sure it wasn't salt.

All of the sudden I heard the roar of an engine behind me I turned around and saw Johnny in the car almost right behind us.

"Hey, could you go a little faster?"I asked. They both grinned at each other. All of a sudden we we're going so fast I had to clutch the back seat thinking I was going to fall out.

But Johnny didn't give up that quick, he drove just as fast, almost catching up.

There was nothing I could do now, why not enjoy it? I liked a good car chase.

**"I pretty much try to stay in a constant state of confusion, just because of the expression it leaves on my face."**

**-Johnny Depp**


	5. I ran

**SO AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL...I FORGOT THIS STORY EXISTED. DON'T WORRY, IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN.**

ROSE POV

"Okay you can stop up here."I said, but he only sped up. He and his buddy were both laughing it up and pointing at something on the windshield, I didn't know what though, I didn't see anything.

"Please, I can get off here."I turned around and looked behind to see if Johnny was still following, nope, his car couldn't keep up.

"The Red Shark can go fast huh?"I heard the passenger say, the Red Shark? They must have been talking about the car. I decided to try and make a run for it, there was nothing I could do to make them slow down, apparently this was "bat country".

I climbed on the back of the car preparing to slide off, we were heading towards the Circus-Circus, I planned on hopping off when they slowed down to park.

They pulled over to the side of road and I quickly slid off the back of the car. It's open top made it easier to get away.

From out of nowhere Johnny's car came speeding down the road behind us, I turned and down the street. I heard the car swerve behind me and I ran faster.

I didn't know how long I ran, after two minites I looked over my shoulder. Holy shit, he was almost right behind me.

"Leave me alone!"I yelled.

"I have,"He took a breath,"Orders from Abe."

We were both gasping, and I was so tired I didn't even try to respond.

"You can't escape now. Why don't you stop so we can both stop running?"I heard him say from behind. I could tell he was out of breath. But I kept running anyway, and if he caught me, well, lets just say I wouldn't go easy on him.

I heard him increase his pace behind me, I made a quick left only to discover I had run into an alley with a dead end.

"You can't escape Rose."He said. I assessed my options, I could either go with him willingly with no trouble at all.

Or I could beat him up.

I sat down against the brick wall and tried to catch my breath.

"Just give me a minute."I said, still breathing heavily. Yeah, he was going to be easy. I could put him on his ass in seconds.

Standing up, I walked towards him and mentally planned out which move I would make first. Maybe a right hook to the jaw would do. I advanced towards him, being very cautious.

"Don't even try it."He said. I acted innocent.

"Try what?"I asked.

"I know what you're thinking, and I'm telling you. It's not going to work."He said. Not going to work? Did this guy know who he was talking to? I decided to try and catch him by surprise.

Instead of hitting him in the jaw like I had planned I went for the legs, I kicked them out from underneath him. He fell down on the ground, I began to run around him but he grabbed one of my legs, knocking me to the ground with him.

I punched him in the face, he let go and I started to get up again.

He pulled me back down again and pulled out some handcuffs, he got one on my left wrist. Before I could stop him, he put the other on his own. That was it, there was no chance of escape.

Suddenly my surroundings changed, I wasn't in an alley, I was at Court.

Lissa was walking down a familiar hallway, one that led to a familiar cell. Lissa walked farther, till she stopped right in front of it.

"Lissa, what's wrong?"Dimitri asked. He stared deep in my eyes, I mean, Lissa's eyes, trying to assess her emotions. I practically swooned right then and there. Lissa's hands went to her eyes as she wiped some tears that had building up. I had no idea she would miss me that much.

"She's gone."Lissa said. Lissa didn't seem that worried about me earlier, why was she now? To my surprise, Dimitri's expression changed. His face showed shock, surprise, and sadness. Dimitri looked down on the ground.

"What do you mean?"Dimitri asked, in a low voice.

"She was taken. No one knows, why, or wh+++o. But she's gone."Lissa said. She walked over to the bars of the cell and sat down in front of them, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"When?"He asked. Lissa rested her chin on her right knee.

"Two days ago."She replied. Dimitri pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's my fault."He said. Lissa barely heard him whisper. Something inside her clicked.

"Excuse me?"She said, lifting her head up. Dimitri looked over at her.

"What did you say?"Lissa asked. Her temper rising. She stood up, Dimitri sat up straighter, not responding.

"What, did you say?"Lissa said a little more forcefully, without knowing it, she used compulsion on him

"It was my fault."He said. Lissa grew angry.

"How, what did you do to her?"Lissa commanded him to tell her.

"She came to me at the church, I told her to go away, to leave me alone. That my love for her had faded."He answered, eyes glazed, under her complete control.

Lissa knew she was getting angry. She decided to leave before things got worse and she did something bad for Dimitri. She released him, turned curtly, and walked away. Leaving him staring after her.-

ROSE POV

"Rose! Rose!"I blinked a couple of times to find Johnny's hands on my shoulder. He had taken the cuffs off. So, I took that as an advantage.

I got up as quick as I could, and ran.

**"At last, my arm is complete again!"**

**-Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd the demon barber of Fleet Street**


	6. I felt like an ass

ROSE POV

"You can't run forever Rose!"I hear him shout behind me. By now I was rested and energized, I was confident I could lose him.

"Yes I can!"I yelled back. I supposed that didn't really make any sense, because I knew that if he had connections to Abe, he could find me anywhere. Whether I was in Antarctica, France, or Russia. He could always find me.

"Rose!"He yelled again. This time I slowed down. There was a tone in his voice that I had heard before, desperation, worry, the same tone Dimitri used on me. I remembered him carrying me to the clinic after I was beat up by Natalie Dashkov. I grew nostalgic.

Instead of running, I stopped, turned around, and ran right into his arms. I put my arms around him and buried myself in his chest, tears began to flow down my cheeks. I wanted it back, all of it. I wanted Lissa, Dimitri, Christian, even Adrian. I just wanted everything to go back the way it was.

After a few seconds, his arms were around me. Why had he been so worried about me, Abe was paying him to do this wasn't he? He wasn't supposed to care, all he was supposed to do was keep an eye on me.

After a few minutes I stepped back and wiped my eyes with my hands.

"What did Abe tell you to do?"I asked him. He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"He told me to bring you to Vegas,"Johnny said,"All he said was to deliver you here, and that he could keep an eye on you when you got here. But I guess, I guess I didn't want to leave you."He said.

He did that for me? Did he like me that much? I thought about Dimitri, would he ever have done something like that for me. With Dimitri I never knew, he kept on telling me he loved me and then he'd change his mind, I could never get a read on his feelings for me. He loves me, he loves me not...

I didn't think, I acted.

I kissed him, right on the lips. After a few seconds he returned the favor, my arms went around his shoulders, and his around my waist.

CHRISTIAN POV

When I find out Rose was gone, kidnapped, taken. I didn't take it too, well, how would I? She was my best friend, is, I wasn't sure. Sometimes she could drive me crazy, but I would never wish for this.

I stuffed some more of my clothes in the duffel, no one cared if I was here or not anyway, why not leave? Besides, I hated Court. It was full of snobby royals who did nothing but gossip and make fun of other people.

I wonder if Lissa would care, would she even know I was gone? It didn't matter, she could have any guy she wants. She was beautiful inside and out, she had a great personality, she- Stop it Christian, she was out of line. Out of control, and she needs time to straighten things out.

And, she was probably hooking up with Dimitri anyway, she was always with him.

Good hell, she was amazing. Her powers were amazing, and when she uses them- Stop, what did I tell you? She is happy without you! Let go of you, you'll find someone else!

I felt mental or something, talking to myself.

LISSA POV

Oh he knew something, I had no idea what. But I knew it was something about Rose, and I was going to find out. I had followed him a little ways after he had left Rose's building, and more a couple days after that when I saw him about to leave on a plane. It was kind of awkward hiding behind potted plants and stuff but I still got pieces of information.

But there was only one that really mattered. I had heard him say Abe's name, and to me, that explained everything. It either meant that Abe helped plan for Rose to leave and leave a crime scene like that, or he was trying to find her.

The other piece of information I heard was "Las Vegas". The words "Rose" and "Las Vegas" seemed to match up perfectly. But I still wondered whether or not Vegas could handle Rose.

I decided to leave and go there, I had nothing to lose...well, except my reputation, the respect of other Royals...Yeah, I didn't care anymore. The only thing I cared about was finding Rose, I would've rather had my best friend than the respect of people who spend more than 50% of their money on shoes.

At first I had wondered how I would leave Court unnoticed, which seemed pretty impossible. I decided to leave around three in the morning, er, afternoon. During the day when everyone was asleep, no one would suspect that poor Dragomir girl to sneak out at such an untimely hour.

But there was still other things to think about, for example, it coming out I was in Vegas. I remembered that there was video of me "gambling" the last time we went on a little escapade.

But Rose was the only thing I cared about at the moment, and Dimitri hurt her. I didn't know I felt about that.

Angry, I guess, disappointed. Disappointed that I had put so much of my time and effort to make him feel better and for him to go and hurt my best friend like that. It didn't seem right, and I felt like such an ass for treating her the way I did while it was going on.

Maybe I am an ass, maybe I was just an assy person.

Assy or not, Rose was my friend and I needed to be there for her. I just couldn't believe that things got so bad she had to fake something like that to get away. It made feel terrible, assy, like I had thought before.

But I was going to change that, and this time I won't make the same mistakes.

**"Trips to the dentist – I like to postpone that kind of thing."**

**-Johnny Depp**


	7. the Plane

ROSE POV

This was bad, very bad. I couldn't fall in love with him, he wasn't Dimitri. I loved Dimitri, I only loved him. I removed his arms from around my waist and stepped back.

"I'm sorry, I can't, I have to go."I said. Then I turned, and ran. It seemed I was always running from something. From Court, from Dimitri, from Johnny. I just wanted to be able to stick with one thing. To have something to go back to.

Maybe he would follow me. Maybe he was different than Dimitri, willing to do anything just to be with me. I didn't hear him behind me though, and I didn't dare look back. As I was running, it felt like I was running from a part of myself. From something I loved, like donuts.

I didn't even know where I was going to go, I didn't have my money, or my backpack. I had nothing. But this was Vegas, and I could get it all back. There were a lot of men willing to pay- no, I decided. I wouldn't resort to that.

So for a while I just wandered around, completely lost and completely hopeless. That is, until a familiar blue Honda Accord pulled up on the side of the road next to me. The passenger door opened.

"Get in."Johnny said. I started to protest, but he gave me a lot and I climbed in.

"Here's your backpack, and some money from Abe. I'll drop you off at the nearest hotel."He said. I didn't respond but just took the backpack and stared straight ahead as he drove.

I knew I would have to get out soon as we neared the Riviera. He stopped at the front of the building. I strapped my backpack around one shoulder, kissed him, then quickly got out of the vehicle.

I walked as fast as I could into the hotel and out of his sights. I still wanted to see him again, or at least run into him, and I hoped that gave him the message. Once I was in the hotel I headed straight for the back, I wasn't planning on staying here.

I didn't even want to stay in Vegas anymore, it reminded me too much of my confusion. I wanted to see Lissa, she was the only person on my mind now, but I knew she hated me. And I knew I couldn't see her anyway, because of the little stunt I pulled back at Court.

I left through the back of the hotel, trying not to attract any attention to myself. Luckily no one noticed me.

So, I decided to go someplace that I really shouldn't. I was going to go back to Court, it wasn't like anyone cared that I had gone anyway right? Maybe Christian would've noticed that I was gone, but I wasn't sure if he gave a damn or not.

With the money that Abe had given me I would be able to get a plane back to Pennsylvania, now I just had the problem of finding the airport...

LISSA POV

"What the hell are you doing here?"I demanded. Christian was in front of me, a duffel bag on his shoulder.

"What does it look like? I'm getting on a plane."He responded. We were both standing in the middle of an airport just outside of the city Court was in.

"Well then why are you here and where are you going?"I countered.

"I'm sorry, that is not of your concern. Now if you'll excuse me."He said, he started to leave. Crap, he was going in the same direction I was. I walked a little ways behind him and to the left. I just hoped he wouldn't look back.

I went to the very left side of the room where I was to wait for my flight to be called. Christian sat down too and I wondered where he could possible be going.

After an hour of playing Temple Run on my phone it was my time to board. I got up, from across the room, Christian got up to. Shit, shit, shit, I hoped he wasn't going to Las Vegas.

What I had with me was a kind of a medium sized suitcase that trailed behind me. It didn't do me much good when I tried to walk quietly.

Christian got in line, I decided to let let a few people ahead of me before I did too. Yep, we were going to the same place. The question was, what were his reasons? Christian wasn't the type of person to just drop everything and take a vacation.

The attendant check my ticket and I made my way onto the plane. I was getting nervous, I hoped he didn't sit near me. I tried to find Christian as I made my way to my seat.

Oh, wonderful, he sat next to me, well, kinda. I sat on seat away from him on the same row. I had the aisle seat.

I could feel him staring at me as I lifted my suitcase and put it in the space above me. All I had to entertain me was my iphone, that had 20 minutes of battery left. Which was great, absolutely fantastic for a five hour plane ride.

Neither he nor I said anything as I sat down. I put my seat belt on and turned on my phone, I turned down the brightness in an attempt to make it last longer.

Oh, awesome, it died. I sighed as I put it in my pocket and grabbed a magazine from the pouch of the seat in front of me. My hopes of the plane having a T.V on the back of the seats had been shattered the minute I walked in. It was only till after the plane had launched into the air that the awkward silence had been broken.

In my periphery I saw Christian turn towards me.

"Hi."

**AGAIN, I AM SORRY FOR THE WAIT. YOU CAN BLAME INSTAGRAM FOR BEING SO DAMN ADDICTIVE...**

**"I know very little about acting, I'm just an incredibly gifted faker."**

**-Robert Downey Jr.**


	8. Someone

LISSA POV

"Hello..."I said, not sure what to do in the awkward position I was in. Christian clapped his hands together and sat back in his seat.

"Sooo what brings you here."He asked. I didn't know how to answer.

"Someone."I said. It wasn't like I was lying.

"You?"I asked.

"Same."He said. There was silence for minute.

"Christian, what the hell are you doing?"I asked. He looked at me.

"I don't know, I haven't seen you for a while. I miss you, how can I ignore you?"He responded. I sighed.

"I'm going to Vegas because Rose is here, or I assume she's hear. What's your excuse?"I said.

"When I heard Rose was missing I thought, why would she frame her own kidnapping? And where in the world would someone like Rose go?"He said.

"How did you know she framed it?"I asked.

"Because she's Rose. Number one, she's too badass. Number two, Strigoi can't go through wards. Number three, who in hell would dare attempt kidnap her? They wouldn't be able to handle her sarcasm. Well, except Dimitri."He said.

"Dimitri..."I murmured. What had become of him, was he still just moping in his cell? Or maybe he was released. I really didn't know what had happened to him.

"Lissa?"Christian questioned. I looked up at him.

"Nothing."I said.

"What...what is this? What are we? Are we friends...what?"He asked. I was afraid that we would have this conversation.

"I don't know, are we friends?"I responded.

"That's what I'm asking you."

"I'm not sure what we are."

"Do you want to be friends?"

"I don't know."

"You have to want one or the other."

"Fine, yes, that would be nice."

"How are you doing?"

"What?"

"Just making normal, friendly conversation."

"Good."

"What do you mean?"

"How am I doing, I am doing good. How are you doing?"

"Good, a fine day it is isn't it?"

I laughed, I wasn't even sure if it was still light out. The windows were closed.

"Yes, a lovely day it is."I answered.

"Oh damn, the sun's so bright I can't see my phone."He said, holding his iphone out in front of him.

"Here let me see it,"I said, taking it from him,"You have to _angle _it. See?"I responded.

"Ah, yes, _angle _it, brilliant observation indeed."He said.

"Well, I am the smartest person in the world."I said.

"I fall for your intelligence every time."He said, acting dramatic. As I was handing his phone back, I accidentally hit the home button. Revealing his lock screen wallpaper. It was a picture of me and him from back at the Academy.

"You still have this?"I asked.

"I never took it down."

We leaned closer together and-

ROSE POV

A few hours later I found the airport. Well, I had to go around and ask people. Then I just resorted to googling it, surprisingly, it worked very well.

I didn't have any luggage on me besides my backpack, considering the long line for security, I was glad. One of the things I was worried about though was my stake, it was in the bottom of my backpack, and had been there since I left Court.

I didn't want them to look in the contents of my backpack and see a silver stake, maybe I could say I just went camping. For whatever reason, I decided to ditch it, it wasn't like I couldn't find another one.

After getting through security I made my way towards the terminal, there was a lot of people milling around. Made for interesting people watching. I looked around at the variety of people, then I saw two familiar figures...

No...no, that wasn't possible. They hated me, they couldn't care less if I lived or died. They must be here to elope or something, I'll just avoid them.

I tried to shield my face as much as possible as I walked by Lissa and Christian. They were walking together, hand in hand. Good, glad to see they weren't worried whatsoever about my whereabouts or safety.

As I passed them I looked back to see if they noticed. Nope. It didn't matter, I was used to it. I continued onward, I knew deep down I really had wished they had seen who I was or acknowledged me, I didn't want them not to care.

But I kept walking anyway, trying not to turn back and hoping I would here Lissa shout my name from across the airport finally coming to the realization that her best friend was-

No. Nope. Don't think like that. She was better things to do.

I sat down in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs while I waited for my flight to be called to board. In my periphery, I could see a man four seats down who was very tall and wearing a duster. I tried not to look at him, he reminded me too much of Dimitri.

I pushed back my cuticles as I waited then moved on the making tiny crescent marks in my palm with my fingernails. I still had another hour.

So I settled on looking around at the stores in the airport. I got up and began walked towards the nearest one that sold magazines. As I passed the man, I just had to look at him.

He was reading a book, and didn't notice me. A book I had seen him read many times.


	9. Act natural

**I LEFT MY LAPTOP WHEN I WENT ON VACATION, I PROMISE I HAVEN'T ABANDONED YOU!**

ROSE POV

I stood there and stared at him. I mean, what else was I supposed to do? Shake his hand and thank him for breaking my heart? Suddenly I had the urge to sock him in the face.

He looked up and saw me, his eyes locked with mine and for a moment it seemed like there was nothing else in the world but us.

Then I punched him.

I had got him in the jaw with a right hook, making his head snap to the right. Ooh, that was going to hurt. I felt my knuckles sting. Yep, definitely going to hurt. He just sat there for a minute, staring at me. Then he snapped back to life.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"He exclaimed.

"The hell you think it was for? Love fades, mine has, I hate you, too bad."I said, pretty pleased with my answer.

"Well I see you haven't outgrown you wit."He said with a sigh.

"Oh that's rich."I said sarcastically as I began to walk away.

Before I knew it Dimitri was stood up and put his arms around me.

"What the hell do you think you're-"He cut me off though. His lips met mine. I wasn't sure whether or not I should punch him again or just enjoy it. Maybe I'll just wait a few seconds before I hit him in the face. However, he stepped back before I had the chance to raise my arm.

"I"m sorry."He whispered. I studied his face, trying to figure what was going on in that mind of his. I could tell he was doing the same thing.

Something caught my eye. Something...shiny.

It was Lissa's hair. Dimitri turned around, apparently noticing my change in behavior.

"What is she doing outside the wards?"He asked no one.

"Maybe you should go and rescue her before a strigoi snatches her up and eats her."I said. Before he could respond I picked my luggage and stalked off. I hoped Lissa and Christian wouldn't see me as I walked towards the exit.

Don't see me, don't see me, don't see me, don't see me, don't see me-

"Rose!"

How could I have predicted that one? I pretended not to notice her and tilted my head down as if she had the wrong person. Apparently she noticed.

She stopped where she was and just stared at me. Good going Rose, you just love to push people away from you don't you? Well good, because nobody's coming after you now.

I walked out the doors, and away from everything I loved.

**SO CHEESY, I KNOW, I'M SORRY! AND I KNOW IT'S PRETTY SHORT BUT I'M GOING TO UPDATE SOON ANYWAY, SO STAY TUNED!**

**"If there's any message to my work, it is ultimately that it's OK to be different, that it's good to be different, that we should question ourselves before we pass judgment on someone who looks different, behaves different, talks different, is a different color."**

**-Johnny Depp**


	10. Karma's a bitch

**OKAY SO MAYBE NOT AS SOON AS I THOUGHT...**

ROSE POV

With all the money I had I was able to stay at any hotel I wanted, but instead of choosing something fancy and expensive, I chose a motel. A crappy one. The only reason I picked it was because it looked pretty ghetto, which meant strigoi. Which meant I could take my anger out on something other than the hotel furniture.

I wasn't really sure what I was angry at though, myself, probably. I already anger a lot of people so why not myself too? I didn't even know what I was doing anymore. Why not just stop it? Just stop everything? It shouldn't be that hard, and no one would miss me...

No. I had to stop thinking like that. There are plenty of things to live for. Doughnuts, food, stabbing stuff, lots of things. But maybe those things weren't good enough to keep me here.

It probably wouldn't be that hard anyway, all I'd have to do was get a hand gun from (which I was sure I could get for a decent price in this area) and just pull the trigger. I had hit rock bottom, and I didn't have any options, it wasn't like I was actually going to get anywhere in life anyway.

But then again...doughnuts, and punching bags, and Dimitri...Well, maybe not Dimitri. He wasn't thinking straight, he probably just came after me because he knew Lissa was. He worships the ground she walks on anyway. So I guess Dimitri didn't count.

Screw it. I'm staying because of doughnuts.

I was lying on my back on a cheap mattress with springs that squeaked every time I moved a millimeter. The walls around the room were thin, very thin, so thin that I heard things that I shouldn't have from the bedroom next to mine. Dirty things. I tried to cover my ears with the lumpy pillows but thew them across the room when my eyes came across a blood stain on one of them. I was about ready to get out of there when I heard the woman scream.

The scream was different than what I thought it would be. It wasn't like an dirty kind of scream, but more of a 'someone help I'm going to die' kind of scream. In a flash I was out of the bed with my stake in hand. I ran out of the room and prepared to bust in the one next to mine.

I lifted my leg and gave the door a good hard kick. It made a large thump sound, but didn't have any other effect.

"Oh come on!"I said aloud. How come the doors were thicker than the walls?

It became silent and it occured to me that I had grabbed the assailant's and the victim's attention.

"Shit."I whispered. Now I was really in for it, instead of running I stood there like an idiot and waited for the door to open. I was frozen, and I didn't know why. It was probably a human anyway, a weak human who I could render unconscious in seconds. Maybe it was the horror movie vibe that the motel got going, because no matter where I was in the building I felt that someone was just going to jump out and kill me.

I heard footsteps walked toward the door and I lifted both my hands and the stake in the air prepared to defend myself. I couldn't help but cringe as they neared the door. The door slowly opened, and instead of a strigoi, or some other scary figure. I girl opened the door, she appeared to be about 16 years old. But what stood out about her was a blood encrusted neck. Tears were running silently down her cheeks. A blood whore. But why did she scream?

I put down my weapon and fist as I looked at her in pity. Before I could react a figure appeared from behind the door and came at me with his fists in the air. One of them came in contact with my eye. Damn, that was going to leave a mark, I hoped he wasn't wearing rings.

I kicked at one of his legs as he tried to run past me, he was a strigoi alright, but what I didn't understand was why he decided to run. He fell to the ground in pain and I took the stake and plunged it into his calf. He cried out in pain and I leaned over him trying to get a good shot at his chest. He noticed this and took something out of his pocket, I was too busy trying to get a good opening to see what it was.

Right as I was lifted the stake in the air with both hands, I felt something sharp in my stomach. I looked down to see he had stabbed me with a small dagger, blood was blossoming out through my shirt. Shit that hurts. I dropped the stake and my hands slowly went towards the knife, I debated on whether or not to pull it out.

To my surprise, instead of finishing me off (which I kind of wanted him to do), he got up and ran, well, limped, away. The girl, who had been standing in the doorway, decided to run away too, albeit in the opposite direction.

I leaned against the wall then slid down till I was lying on the ground. I was breathing heavily now and my shirt was soaked with blood. I wasn't going to die in battle like I had planned, while protecting Lissa either. It was this I guess, bleeding to death minutes after I was sitting in a crappy motel having a pity party. I guess it was karma that now that I was dying I wanted so badly to live.

Yeah, karma's a bitch.

"The Mcquaid Brothers! Ha!" -Officer Tom Hanson and Doug Penhall (Tom Mcquaid, Doug Mcquaid) 21 Jump Street, season 2, Champagne High


	11. Chapter 11

**YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD, DIDN'T YOU?**

**:)**

ROSE POV

I woke up on the same crappy mattress where I had been thinking about suicide. Kind of ironic, really. I looked down at my side, it was bandaged, though some blood was seeping through. I heard someone sit down next to me, at first I thought it was Johnny. It didn't surprise me much when I saw who it really was. He tends to show up whenever I'm in need of medical assistance. I covered my face with my hands.

"Why couldn't you have just let me die?" I moaned. Whether it was the pain in my side, the suicidal thoughts coming back on, or both, I didn't really feel like being alive.

"Did you think I would have just let you die?" Dimitri asked. I took my hands away and stared at the ceiling. I knew he was going to say that.

"Well, I would have preferred it."

I looked over and saw Dimitri's face contorted in pain, he looked like he was about to cry. A surprise, considering I usually saw him with a blank, stoic expression. But the one he wore now made him look like a sad, little boy.

"I'm so sorry,"He choked.

"It's not your fault," I said, "I should have killed myself earlier to spare you the pain of my snarky comments."

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say.

He put his head in his hands, and to my astonishment, began to cry. Or at least I thought he was, I had never really seen him cry before, I didn't really think he could. I sighed.

"Dimitri, why do you care so much?"

I knew why he cared about me, and I knew he cared a lot about me. But I wanted to hear him say it. He didn't answer, so I pressed harder.

"You weren't all that ecstatic to see when I came to visit you in your cell. After I broke Victor Dashkov out of Tarasov and found his crazy brother just to save your sorry ass. So excuse me if I don't feel as appreciative as I should."

Still no reply. But I knew how to get him to talk.

"Why don't you just do me a favor and suffocate me with a pillow. Get rid of me so there can be nothing to stop you from spending time with Lissa."

That did the trick.

"Don't you get it Rose?" He stood up, exasperated.

"I lied to keep you away from me, because you deserve better than me and what I did to you. I never stopped loving you Rose, and I never will. But I don't deserve you, you need someone who will treat you right."

"You were a Strigoi you idiot! You had no idea what you were doing!"

Yelling at him made the pain in my side increase, but didn't really know how else I was supposed to get my point across.

"Yes, but Rose, it's not just that-"

Ouch, oooh, owww. Man, that is painful. Should not have done that, should not have raised my voice. That burns, that burns, ow, ow, ow, ow.

Hoooly shit, that is caustic. I couldn't hear what Dimitri was saying anymore, damn, he must be really agitated to be pacing around the room like that.

I closed my eyes, I felt myself drifting from consciousness, and the pain faded away.

DIMITRI POV

"Rose?"

I looked over to see her lying motionless on the bed, the bandage soaked with blood. I swore under my breath as I picked her up and carried her out of the room.

She was losing color fast and blood was beginning to stain my shirt. I ran out of the nearest exit I could find, glad that we were on the first floor. I should have known the gauze wouldn't last long.

Once outside I ran to my car, well, I would have. Someone had stolen it. It was such a nice car, it was even a Honda. But that wasn't my biggest concern at the moment. I would have to steal another one.

I found a crappy Chevrolet a few spaces away where my car should've been and set Rose on the ground. I kicked in the driver's window, unlocked the doors, and laid Rose across the backseat.

Fortunately I had the knowledge of how to hot-wire a car, and had passed a hospital when I had followed Rose here earlier.

I was almost there when I heard sirens behind me, I chose to ignore them and increased my speed, weaving in and out of other cars, if I could just make it to the next exit...

ROSE POV

I woke up in a hospital. Well, I guessed I did. Really I just heard beeping noises, and voices. I couldn't see anything, so I didn't really know if you could count that as being awake.

"Her statistics aren't looking good, she'll be lucky to make it through the night," I heard someone say. What? What are they talking about, surely they weren't talking about me. I felt fine, sure my side didn't feel too good, but it wasn't as bad as it was before.

Now if I could just tell them that. I wanted to, but I couldn't move. I heard other voices too.

"Will she wake up?"

Hey, I knew that voice. It was Christian, but what was he doing here?

"We are not sure yet. Are you a friend of her's?"

"Yeah, why?"

"How long have you known her?"

"A while."

"Specifically."

"Why does this matter?"

"Please answer the question."

"Around four or five years, why?"

"How well would you say?"

"We're pretty good friends I guess, again, why is this necessary?"

"Your presence may be a comfort to her, and an encouragement. Why don't you talk to her while I go check in on my other patients."

I could hear the doctor walk away and Christian sit down beside me.

"Hey, Rose," He said, "So they said something about you not getting enough oxygen to your brain, which I'm going to go ahead and guess has something to do with of that giant cut on your side. Anyway, Dimitri has gone to find Lissa. I was with her a few hours ago but I lost track of her when she saw you. Anyway, they'll come back, Lissa will heal you, you'll make a "miraculous" recovery, and then...Well, I'm not sure what happens after that. I mean, Lissa will definitely come to help you, you know how she is. She might be a little mad at you but I'm sure she'll get over it."

"You might be wanting to know why I'm here, or how I got here I guess. Well, I kinda ended up sitting next to Lissa on the plane here, we both came looking for you. You could say things might have clicked. Looks like you got us together again, just like you wanted to."

His voice had become more of a whisper during that last part, he didn't talk for a minute. I wanted him too, I wished he didn't stop. Was he upset?

"So, um, I haven't seen you for a long time," He said. His voice sounded different, as if he had been crying. I wasn't sure, I didn't even know if he could cry. I figured all his emotion was registered through sarcasm and snark. It made me sad. I wanted to sit up and tell that if he and Lissa ever broke up again I would handcuff them together till they got over it. Which, actually, is what I probably would do.

I listened to him get up and walk off, his footsteps echoing on the tile floor. Leaving me alone with my thoughts.

***PEOPLE FOLLOWING THIS STORY* : AFTER ALL THIS TIME?**

***ME* : ALWAYS.**

**GET IT? CAUSE I DIDN'T UPDATE FOR A LONG TIME, AND IN BETWEEN THIS LAST CHAPTER AND THIS NEW ONE I READ THE HARRY POTTER SERIES, AND HAVING BEEN SPENDING MOST OF MY TIME READING AND WRITING ABOUT HARRY POTTER... **

**ANYWAY, I'M BACK WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, THE PEOPLE OVER AT THE HARRY POTTER ARCHIVE ARE NOT AS GOOD AT REVIEWING AS YOU GUYS :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**MY DAD'S FRIEND AND HIS GIRLFRIEND ARE STAYING WITH US BECAUSE MY PARENTS ARE OUT OF TOWN, AND HE ASKED ME IF I WAS GOING TO GO OUT AND DO SOMETHING WITH MY FRIENDS TONIGHT BECAUSE IT'S FRIDAY AND I LAUGHED SO HARD I FELL OFF THE COUCH.**

**I AM, ACTUALLY.**

**WITH MY _INTERNET FRIENDS_. **

**IF GOSSIPING ABOUT HOW HOT JOHNNY DEPP IS DOING SOMETHING, THEN YEAH, TOTALLY. I DON'T CARE IF HE'S 50 HE'S STILL SMEXY.**

ROSE POV

Things were darker. I mean, they've been dark for a while of course, I can't see anything. But I couldn't breathe very well either. It was like I was being pulled away from the world by some invisible force, it didn't hurt very much.

I had been listening to Christian rambling on about something just a few minutes earlier, blah blah blah Lissa, blah blah blah not coming. I wasn't sure what it meant, I didn't really care either. I just wanted to leave, I wanted to go somewhere, and I didn't care where.

I could be dead right now and not even know it, but I was sure death would be a lot more interesting.

Christian's voice was gone, which was good. He sounded pretty upset, and I didn't want to listen to that.

Suddenly the temperature dropped, it got so cold I couldn't feel my toes. Pretty soon I wasn't able to feel anything at all, I was just numb.

And then I opened my eyes, and I was able to move again. I couldn't tell where I was, but I had an odd feeling I had been there before, figures started appearing around me. As they grew more apparent I could tell who they were.

Andre, Lissa's parents, Mason...wait a minute.

They were drifting towards me with their arms opened, I tried to back up, but there was nowhere to go, nowhere to escape.

"Rose!"

Wait, what? Who said that?

"Rose!" The voice called again. I felt someone touch my hand, but I saw no one. A hot and cold sensation started to come from it, trailing up my arm. I couldn't feel the left side of my body anymore, I looked down and saw that it had disappeared.

It reached my head and I couldn't see anymore, the ghosts were fading, I was fading. What was happening to me? My thoughts grew obscure, I couldn't think. Was Lissa here? Was she- My last thought was cut off, as if it had faded into nothingness.

And I was gone.

THIRD PERSON POV

"Did it work?" Dimitri's voice broke the silence that had plagued the room. Rose didn't show any sign that she was alive, Lissa had started healing her right when she stopped breathing.

She didn't breathe, she didn't move, she was just kinda...lying there. Motionless, shouldn't it have worked? Lissa healed her, didn't she?

"I-I don't know what's going on, it should have worked..." Lissa said. Christian reached for Rose's arm and felt for a pulse, nothing.

"Maybe it can't happen twice, maybe you're only allowed to be saved once," said Christian.

"No, no, she'll be okay. Just watch, she'll wake up any second now," Dimitri said. Christian looked at Dimitri in pity, and sympathy. He didn't figure Dimitri to be one to hope for a lost cause.

"Yeah," Lissa agreed, "She'll just wake up any second."

Now Lissa was one the crazy train too, he felt sorry for both of them, for himself. But he was also glad he was able to accept what had happened, watching your parents die can do that to you.

Christian wondered when their delusions would stop, and when they would be able to accept the truth. He didn't want Lissa to end up in the mad house with other crazed spirit users.

"Try again," Dimitri said.

Christian and Dimitri watched as Lissa placed her hands on Rose, they could feel the magic radiating from her. But again, nothing seemed to happen.

"Forget it, she's dead," Christian said, suddenly angry at them.

"She's not dead, I would've been able to heal her."

"Fine, gone, whatever. It's over. Leave it alone."

Before anyone of them could reply Christian left the room, determined not to let their hopeless delusions mess with his thoughts. She was dead, gone. He would never be able to see them again, why couldn't they accept that? The Guardians killed them, his parents would never-

Wait, his parents?

Lissa and Dimitri were acting just as he had when his parents had died, how he had tried to believe the best when the worst had happened. They didn't need any help from him to come to their senses, it would happen sooner or later.

LISSA POV

"Dimitri."

I looked over to see Dimitri staring at Rose, I couldn't determine what he was thinking. Usually I was pretty good at reading people.

"Dimitri."

His only response was a small nod.

"I have an idea, it's pretty crazy," I said. He turned to me, taking his eyes off of her.

"Well, she's not a strigoi. But, umm, I was thinking, since it healed you. I could try and charm a stake, and-"

"No."

"No? What do you mean no?"

"No as in no, I won't let you do it."

"But it could save her!"

"And if it doesn't?"

I didn't have a response to that, what would happen if it didn't work?

"Exactly," Dimitri said, satisfied he had proved his point. I wasn't looking at him though. I was looking at the stake in his pocket.

"Well, what are you going to do then?"I said, turning back to Rose, also trying to get him to do the same so I could catch him off guard. He did so, and before he could answer I grabbed the stake from his pocket and made a break for it.

He was probably faster than I was, but I had caught him by surprise. I ran out of the room and shut the door behind me, giving me time to hide in the supply closet.

I heard Dimitri's footsteps fade away and I slowly opened the door. He was nowhere in sight.

I hurried back into Rose's room, and standing directly next to her, I began to infuse the stake.

Before I could transfer the magic into the stake however, Dimitri burst into the room and ran for it, right as I had been about to complete the process he took it away. My hands slipped, and the magic I had summoned went directly into what I was now touching. Rose.

But I could only transfer magic into silver, so why did I feel the magic leave me and go into her? I stopped and stared, waiting for something to happen, Dimitri did the same.

_"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."_

- Marilyn Monroe


End file.
